Draft control foe stoves



March 23, 1954 A w ARNOLD DRAFT CONTROL FOR STOVES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Aug. 24, 1950 O o o o o 0 0 v INVENTOR. A RT'HUR W APNOLzD ATTURNE f March 1954 w. ARNOLD DRAFT CONTROL FOR STOVES.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24, 1950 "uHr ll INVEN'TOR. A PTHUIP WARNOLD 6 A TT OR/V Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEDRAFT CONTROL FOR STOVES Arthur W. Arnold, Portland, 0reg., assignor toJessie May Arnold, Laguna Beach, Calif.

Application August 24, 1950, Serial No. 181,289

1' Claim. 1

The present invention relates to draft control for stoves, and inparticular an adjustable one which is very sensitive.

A primary object of the present invention is.

the provision of an air control means that is adjustable and responsiveto the slightest drafts.

Another object of the present invention is thev provision of anaircontrol means that may be entirely closed or adjusted to anyintermediate open position.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of anair control means that is. highly efficient and one in which themaximum.

percentage of heat will be obtained from the fuel used.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision ofmeans on the draft control means for limiting the upward movement ofsaid draft control means.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of adraftcontrol device having,

adjustable controls with a visible indicator so that the controls may beset to the desired position.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision ofdraft control means having counterbalancing means.

A still further object of the presentinvention is the provision of meansfor controlling and directing air into the fuel chamber of a stove.

Other and further objects of the present invention will appear in thefollowing detailed description when studied in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

.Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device at tached to a stove, aportion of the stove being shown fragmentary.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the device. Figure 3 is a topplan view of thefiaps or wings trolling and directing air into the fuelchamber of a stove.

It is a known fact that in stoves as used today only a small part of theuseful energy is recov eredwhenfuel is burned. The fault usually lieswiththe air control. andasa resula much'heat is wasted and goes up thechimney. The draft. on most stoves is a fixed one and when the draftisopened to admit air to make a fire hotter, it

stays open until the room or space becomes too,

hot, then the damper is turned down, then later on more heat is needed,the damper is opened. again, and the process is repeated over and over,with a constant loss of heat and a corresponding waste of fuel. With thepresent invention, when the indicator is set for the desired amount ofair,

the damper, flaps, wings or valves will automatically adjust themselvesto a more open. or closed position as needed.

Referring to the drawings the numeral l0 represents the device and itcomprises a tubular housing H having binding posts I2. At one end. ofthe housing there is provided a closure plate I3 and a cover plate l4,thecover plate being provided with integral ears l5 to which one end ofwire 56 is connected, the opposite end ofthe wire engaging binding postsIE to secure the cover plate to the housing II. The tubular housing IIis provided with a circular opening l'i thatreceives a portion of pipeE8, the top end of pipe.

[8 being disposed at an inclined angle. Encompass ng the pipe I8 is astrap I9 having right angularly disposed ears 20, each being providedwith an aperture that receives a threaded bolt 2| having a nut 22 thatsecures the strap to pipe It, the strap serving as a support for thetubular housing I I, and also providing an adjustable means for pipe iiito lower or raise it.

Housed within the pipe I8 is a pair of semicircular air control flaps,wings or valves 23 and. 24 that are secured to, rods 25 and 26respectively,, the ends of the rods being mounted in apertures.

in pipe l8 and freely movable. To one end of rods 25 and 25 there issecured element 21 that connects with one end of. springs 28, theopposite end of the spring being provided with a weight 29, that servesas a stabilizer for the flaps, wings or valves.

The pipe 18 is provided with screw. bolts 30,

that carrya resilient element 30', the resilient; element limiting theupward movement of the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24, so that inclos-= ing the flaps, wings or valves will not hit the bolts 30 with acrash, but will be gently closed. At

tached to the top faces of the flaps, wings or valves 23 and E i are thelowerends 3| and 32 respectively of spring elements 33 and 34, theupperen s it and 36 being connected to plate 51. The loop endtt oiangularwire39 isconnectedto plate. 31 by a wire 40, the angular wire ,1. 39being,supportedby -a,,strap U, the ziportionufl" of the strap being secured tothe housing II by bolt 43. The springs 33 and 34 provide resilientsupport for the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24 and one that is verycritical to the slightest movement of the flaps.

Mounted on the body II is a housing 44 that is secured to the housing bybolt 43 and a band 46, the ends of the band having apertures that engagethe binding posts I2. The housing 44 is provided with closure plates 41and 48 each of which is provided with a central aperture. The centralaperture in closure plate 48 receives a threaded bolt 49 that is afiixedto the plate by nut 50. Upon the threaded shank of bolt 49 there ismounted a washer and in spaced relation from the washer is a nut 52. Thespace between the washer and the nut 52 is engaged by the V- shapedportion 53 of wire 54, one end of the wire being secured to the housing44 by bolt 55, the V-shaped portion serving as a securin means for thecover plate. The cover plates 41 and 48 are further secured to thehousing 44 by a Spring clip 56 that engages the band 46, the spring clipbeing secured by wire clip 56'.

The central aperture in cover plate 47 receives a threaded bolt 51, theshank of the bolt being of a slightly smaller diameter than the apertureallowing free rotative movement. Upon the bolt there is mounted a drum58, resilient tensioning discs 59, washer 63, a support washer BI thatis held in position by screws 52, a nut 63, an indicator arm 64 and anut 65 holding the assembly together. On one face of the drum 58 thereis secured by staples 66 the loop portion 61 of element 68, the armportion 69 extending beyond the peripheral edge of the drum, the armbeing bent downwardly at and at right angles to the arm forming a leg,the end of which engages the inner face of the cover plate 41 and servesas a means to hold the indicator arm 64 in any desired position. Theouter face of cover plate 41 is provided with suitable indicia H toindicate when the indicator arm 64 is moved to a selected point,

the exact position of the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24.

Within the housing 44 is an element 12 having one end formed into a loop!4 that engages a bolt that secures the element to the housing.Encompassing a portion of the element 12 is an open spring 16, andthrough this spring passes a wire 71 having one end secured to loopportion 61 of element 68, the wire passing through tube I8 and aperture19, the end 80 being connected to loop 8| of the angular wire 39. Duringmovement of wire 11, spring element 16 will move slightly on element 12.The roof of the pipe H is provided with a reinforcing member 82 that issecured by bolt 43.

-In one end of the tubular housing ll there is mounted a disc 85 havinga plurality of apertures 86 as 'a means for controlling and directingair into the fuel chamber of a stove.

In the operation of the present device, the device is attached to anystove, a portion of the housing I I engaging an aperture or a flangethat is below the grate level, such as is shown in Figure 1. The bottomend of a pipe I8 is positioned arm-64 is on numeral 1, the'numeralsonthe dial running from. 1 .to 8, the flaps, wings or. valves 23 and 24are fully open. Counter-clockwise movement of the indicator arm turnsdrum 58 in the same direction, and if viewed from the rear as in Figure5, the movement would be clockwise. Looking from the rear as in Figure 5clockwise movement of drum 58 will impart movement to element 69 whichwill move wire 11 downwardly through the open spring 16, down throughthe tubular element 18 and aperture 19 thus transmitting its downwardmovement to angular wire 39, which being pivotally mounted on the bottomend of strap 4| allows the plate 31 to move down, the downward movementbeing assisted by the counterbalancing weights or stabilizers 23 andsprings 28, 33 and 34, the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24 movingdownwardly from a horizontal position. The flaps, wings or valves 23 and24 being pivotally mounted on rods 25 and 26, and counterbalanced byweights or stabilizers 29 will admit a certain amount of air accordingto the setting of the indicator arm 64.

If the indicator arm 64 is set at numeral 1 on the dial, the flaps,wings or valves 23 and 24 will be wide open, not responsive to changesin air movement, and likewise, if indicator arm 64 is set at the extremeposition numeral 8 on the dial, the flaps will remain fully closedregardless of air pressure. The intermediate portions from numerals 2-7on the dial are the ones in which the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24will be responsive to air movement. If the indicator arm 64 is set at 4,for example, the half way mark or 90 degrees on the dial E4, the flaps,wings or valves 23 and 24 will be approximately half way open undernormal conditions, but if in this position the air becomes too strongthrough pipe l8, the flaps, wings or valves 23 and 24 will close upautomatically until the draft of air decreases, and as the air decreasesthe flaps will gradually open. The delicate suspension of the flaps andthe associated elements prevents too rapid burning of fuel as theclosing of th flaps cuts off the air supply, thus reducin the combustionof fuel inside of a stove. From the description it can be seen that aself adjusting control is provided, that only has to be setoccasionally, and when set it is self regulating. The maximum energy isderived from any fuel used in a stove equipped with the present device.With the present device any increase of draft will reduce the flameinstead of creating a roaring fire such as is the case of stoves notequipped with the present device. The delicate mounting of the flaps,wings or valves make them responsive to the slightest draft,

thereby providing a device for controlling air into a stove of anydesired volume.

By providing the perforated bafiie plate the volume of air is alsocontrolled and directed into a stove due to the apertures 86 in thebaffle plate or disc 85. g

While the present invention has'been disclosed in' connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that theseare by way of example rather than by way'of limitation,

' and that the invention is to be defined by the attendant claim whichshould be given a scope as broad as is consistent with the prior art.

What is claimed is:

A draft control for-stoves, comprising a vertical and a horizontalhousing, combined manual control and indicator means above saidhorizontal housing, pressure responsive flaps pivotally mounted in saidvertical housing, stop means also within said-vertical :housingtoprevent upward movement of said flaps pasta horizontal plane, a'

5 wire depending from said control means, and Number separate springsrising from each flap, said wire 259,494 and said springs connected byan angular bar and 855,574 a plate, whereby movement of the controlmeans 1,688,850 will cause a corresponding movement of said flaps. 51,954,125 2,272,468 ARTHUR W. ARNOLD. 2,460,538 References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS m Number Number Name Date20,528 184,061 Butman Nov. 7, 1876 83,038

Name Date Church June 13, 1882 Henabray June 4, 1907 Calhoun Oct. 25,1928 Gerow Apr. 10, 1934 Lange et a1. Feb. 10, 1942 Schneider Feb. 1,1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. 2, 1910 SwedenApr. 2, 1935

